1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to systems for carrying articles on the exterior of vehicles and, more particularly, to surface-mounted carriers for carrying skis.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many articles are most conveniently carried on the outside of a vehicle, typically on its roof. For example, skis are rather long and do not easily fit within the interior carrying space of a vehicle. Furthermore, after they have been used for skiing, the skis become somewhat packed with dirt and melting snow. The dirt and melting snow make it undesirable to carry the skis within the vehicle, even if they would fit. Therefore, most skiers find it best to carry skis by attaching them to a rack mounted on the roof of their vehicle. Placing the skis on the roof rack keeps them out of the vehicle interior and leaves them readily accessible for loading and unloading.
Generally, vehicle ski rack systems comprise two spaced-apart, parallel load bars extending across the roof of the vehicle, a support tower at the end of each load bar for supporting the bars above the vehicle roof, and a ski carrier attached to each load bar. The skis to be carried are oriented longitudinally on the two carriers so as to span the distance between the load bars. The ski carriers include provision for holding the skis to the carrier, and thereby to the roof of the vehicle.
Ski carriers for use with roof racks typically comprise two arms, one fixed arm attached to a load bar and the other arm pivoting onto the fixed arm, the arms attached to each other at one end by a hinge. With the arms opened apart, a ski is placed horizontally on the fixed arm with its top surface facing up, the ski boot bindings on the ski top surface safely oriented away from the vehicle roof. The pivoting arm is then closed down upon and locked to the fixed arm, thereby holding the ski between the arms. When the skis are to be removed, the arms are opened so that the skis can be lifted away.
While such carriers generally hold the skis securely in place and are convenient to use, they also have a somewhat limited carrying capacity. The skis must be placed in the carrier arms laying flat, side by side. It is easily possible for the carrier to be unable to carry the skis of all the vehicle occupants. Some rack support towers provide added clearance between the load bar and the vehicle roof to allow a pair of skis to be placed bottom to bottom and then loaded horizontally in the carrier, one ski facing upward and the other ski facing downward. The added clearance prevents contact between the ski boot bindings of the downward facing ski and the vehicle roof, which would mar the roof, but great care must still be taken to avoid any contact during loading and unloading and the resulting structure creates an undesirably high profile.
Alternative ski carriers for roof racks provide angled carrying of skis in which the skis are inclined somewhat from the horizontal, giving sufficient clearance for the ski boot bindings from the vehicle roof. Such carriers include load arms with a plurality of angled support members on the fixed arm and a corresponding number of rubber securing loops stretched across the pivoting arm. Skis are inclined against the support members and, as the pivoting arm is brought down, the securing loops are stretched across the skis to hold them in place. Such ski racks provide greater carrying capacity without requiring increased clearance between the load bar and roof. This can improve the aerodynamic efficiency of the system. However, use of securing loops is not believed to hold skis as positively and securely as desired. Moreover, because the securing loops are made of rubber, they can lose some of their flexibility in the cold, becoming more brittle and resistant to stretching. This makes loading and unloading more difficult and reduces the life of the loops.
From the discussion above, it should be apparent that there is a need for a vehicle ski carrier system that has a high carrying capacity with improved ability to securely hold skis, while being easy and convenient to use, and remaining so under varying temperature conditions. The present invention satisfies this need.